Thu Oct 11 15:24:00 EAT 2018

Al-Shabaab 'brides' acquitted 3 years after arrest

The four women who were accused of attempting to sneak into Somalia to join Al-Shabaab. Mombasa court acquitted three of the suspects on October 11, 2018. The fourth suspect died this year at home. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By BRIAN OCHARO

In Summary

Chief Magistrate Evans Makori said the prosecution failed to prove the alleged membership to the terror group.

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A Mombasa court has acquitted three women accused of being members of Al-Shabaab and conspiring to commit a terrorist attack in the country.

Chief Magistrate Evans Makori said the prosecution failed to prove the alleged membership to the terror group or even that the videos the suspects were found with were to be used to instigate terror activities.

"Other than extreme graphic contents of the accused mobile phones and other electronic devices, there were no other items ordinarily used for commission of a terror attack," Mr Makori ruled.

The magistrate noted that prosecution failed to link Ms Halima Adan, Ms Ummulkheir Sadri Abdalla and Ms Khadija Abubakar Abdulkadir to the militants or even that they were en route to Somalia to join the group.

Mr Makori said that the prosecution did not tell the court the Al-Shabaab base where the suspects were allegedly going to when they were arrested at El-Wak in Mandera in 2015.

He dismissed prosecution evidence that the suspects had communicated with the militants in Somalia to plan a terrorist attack in Kenya.